Rubber-soled shoe.



C. B. SLATER.

RUBBER SOLE-D SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED BEPT.19, 1913.

1,1 10,353, Patented Sept. 15,1914.

[61mm M barren s ra'rns PATENT r 10E.

.CHARLES B. SLATER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR QF ONE-HALF TFLEXIBLE RUBBER GOODS CO. OF SALISBURY. CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OFCONNECTICUT.

RUBBER-SOLE!) SHOE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application tiled September 19, 1913.

Patented Sept. 15, 1914.

Serial No. 790,625.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. SLATER, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improvei'nent in Rubber-soled Shoes, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to rubber soled shoes, and more particularly to ashoe having a novel construction of the sole.

In the manufacture of boots and shoes, provided with rubber soles, ithas been customary to apply a, rubber sole directly to the sole of ashoe, or to the Welt and insole of a welt shoe, and secure the rubbersole thereto by cement, stitching, or other means, such as metallicnails and washers. Such a construction, however, has proven veryunsatisfactory, the rubber not withstanding wear as evenly as isdesired,and' quickly wearing away at'the toe portion of the sole, thus looseningthe 'fastenings, breaking away from the sole, fandbecoming quickly unfitfor use. Also: the stitching does not hold in a rubber sole as firmly asin a leather sole, and therefore where a rubber sole was stitched to awelt shoe, it was apt tobecome loose from the welt, as soon as therubber was worn down sufficiently at the toe por tion to cut and loosenthe stitching. It is an object of my invention to obviate thesedifficulties and to provide-a rubber soled shoe which shall be capableof being stitched to the leather sole or welt and with re.

inforcing means at the toe portion, for both wearing andstitch-retaining qualities, and

- formed.

which shall. also be neat and attractive in appearance, preserving thethickness of the sole, and retaining the edge line thereof much longerthan has heretofore been possible in rubber footwear In carrying out myinvention I preferably form the rubber sole with a recess in the toeportion on the tread surface. and then apply to such recess'a leatherreinforcing piece of substantially equal thickness and area to the depthand extent of recess I then apply the rubber sole, so prepared, to theshoe and unite the sole and said reinforcing piece to theshoe by theusual outsole stitching in a welt shoe, or by the through-and-throughstitching in a McKay shoe. This construction affords a substantialleather piece to receive and hold the stitching, firmly uniting therubber sole to the shoe and greatly increasing the wearing qualities ofsuch rubber soled shoe, besides adding to the appearance at the toeportion, preventing the rubber from separating from the shoe at' thetoe, and insuring a more durable sole edge around the forepart of theshoe than has heretofore been possible in rubber footwear.

-Other features of the invention, novel combinations of parts anddetails of "construction will be hereinafter more fully pointed out andclaimed.

Referring to the drawings, wherein a preferredembodiment of theinvention is iillusjtrated, Figure 1 is a side view of a. shoe; and

Fig. 2 being an enlarged view of aportion of the'shoe bottom, showingthe rubber sole and leather reinforcing piece.

While my invention is equally applicable to either welt or McKay-shoes,I= preferably illustrate the samein connection with a welt shoe ofordinary type, the upper 1, welt '2 and heel rand 3 being of usualconstruction. To the shoe thus prepared, I apply a rubber sole 4, which,as herein shown, is integral with a rubber heel 5, although the sole4may 7 v be applied to a shoe with a leather heel, if desired. In formingthe sole 4 I provide, at the forward toeportion thereof, a recess, asindicated at 6, such recess being of a substantial depth, and to thisrecess I ap-.

ply a leather reinforcing piece 7, and secure both the sole 4 and thereinforcing piece 7 to. the welt by the usual outsole stitching 8. Thestitching 8 thus binds the toe part of the rubber sole l'firmly andsecurely to the welt 2, and is in no danger of pulling through, orpermitting the sole 1 to separate from the shoe at this portion, itbeing well known that stitching holds much more firmly in leather thanin rubber, particularly when the stitches may be worn down by thecontinued use of the shoe. This reinforcing tip 7 also prevents therubber from wearing away at the toe portion, thus increasing the lifeand usefulness of such a shoe. In forming the recess 6 I preferably moldthe same with a bevel at the rearmost end, as indicated at 9, andfurthermore from this recess diagonally across the toe portion,

approximately as indicated from lO'to 11 in Fig. 2, the bevel 9 beingcarried across from one point to the other. The reinforcing leatherstrip 7 is correspondingly beveled and cut to fit the slant desired.This crease the wearing and reinforcing feature with a minimum ofleather.

It will be readily understood that myimproved shoe is not limited tothey particular form and style herein illustrated, but 18 equallyadvantageous in application to any rubber soled shoe, Whether an Oxfordor high shoe, and whether the rubber sole extends throughout the entirelength of the shoe bottom or not; the important feature being theattaching and reinforcing of the toe portion of a rubber sole on a shoe,by means of the leather sole piece, preferably arranged substantiallyflush with the tread surface of the rest of the sole;

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters 7 Patent is:

1. A boot or shoe having a rubber sole applied thereto formed with arecess across the entire tread face at the toe portion, said recesshaving a beveled face slanting transversely of the shoe bottom, and aleather sole piece having a corresponding bevel and slant overlappingthe rubber sole, and of substantially equal thickness to the depth ofsaid recess, both rubber sole and leather sole piece being secured tothe shoe by stitchmg.

2. A rubber sole for a shoe comprising a main body portion conformingsubstantially to the outline of the shoe sole to which it is to beapplied, said main body portion having a thickened tread portion to therear of and spaced apart from the tip, the tip of said main body portionbeing at a higher elevation than the tread surface of said thickenedportion, the forward edge of said thickened tread portion being obliqueto the center line of the sole and being beveled back.

3. A shoe construction, comprising a rubber sole portion conforming tothe sole outline of the shoe and secured thereto, said rubber soleportion having a relatively thickened tread portion arranged under theball portion of the shoe and terminating to the rear of the forward end,and a leather filler piece or tip covering the forward end of said soleportion forward of said thickened tread portion, said tip portionconforming in outline to that part of the tip of the sole portionforward of said thickened tread, the forward edge of said thickenedtread portion being oblique to the center line of the sole and beingbeveled back, the rear edge of the leather tip conforming to the bevelof the forward edge of the rubber sole portion and being securedthereto.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name tothis specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES B. SLATER.

Witnesses:

ERNEST L. RANKIN, FRED. A. PARMENTER.

Copies 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

